Title: Sougou Kakutougi Astral Bout
Release Date: 06/26/1992
Developer: A-Wave
Publisher: King Records
Here we have another Japanese exclusive game with an amazing example of box art that could only exist in the 90s. This one seems to be a wrestling game of some kind, so let's jump in.
Background
So this game is based on the Japanese equivalent of 90s UFC. The UFC was very different in the 90's; nowadays, the fighting styles utilized in the sport are homogenized into that MMA style: lots of striking leading to grappling on the floor. 90's UFC though, was truly a competition between various forms of martial arts: you would have sumo vs the riot cop, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu vs Greco-Roman Wrestling. UFC would primarily make its money through pay-per-view style distribution, and then VHS and DVD sales. It was kind of a carnival of strange gladiatorial combat, available at Blockbusters everywhere.
This game is based on a similar organization in Japan, called the Fighting Network Rings. The roster in this game is actually based on some of the fighters that worked at that time in the league. FNR, like the original version of UFC, went out of fashion in the early 2000s, with many of the fighters instead moving over to the "pro-wrestling" leagues in Japan.
The developer I really can't find anything about online. They made some other games in the 1990s but only a few titles that made it to North America. The publisher, as you can tell from the name, was actually a record producer founded in the 1930s, but also started to dabble in the video game market in the 1980s and 1990s. They are personally noted for publishing the game with the raddest title Jesus: Bio Monster."
Roster
In this game, you have representatives of 9 major "fighting styles" personified by some of the fighters that were in the FNR in the 90s...actually after doing some research, there definitely seems to be some real people and some fictional characters. The boxer, for example, is basically Mike Tyson...weird.
You have Barnov Grainer, who fought using Sambo, the Russian grappling and striking style, Somchai Pet Noi, the Muay Thai fighter, Akira Maeda, a Japanese professional wrestler, Kenji Takezawa, a Japanese karate fighter, Shiro Kimura, a Japanese Judo expert, James Taylor, a boxer from the US, Lee Wang-Yu, a kung fu expert from China, Billy J. Gibson, a US kickboxer, and Spell Falcon, a luchador.
Gameplay
Its a pretty stock standard wrestling game. You pick your character and slowly fight through the roster. Beat every character and you win the championship. The characters favor the moves that are prominent in their fighting style; in other words, every character can punch, kick, grapple, do reversals, and pin, but some characters favor one attack over the other. The boxer is the strongest puncher, the kickboxer the strongest kicker, etc. Your characters also do have a super meter and a special attack that you can utilize, though it takes a while to fill, and it is easy to lose the super meter by taking hits.
Overall, the gameplay is really weak: if you aren't using your character's strength, then you are losing the fights. Even when you are winning, you are just mercilessly cheesing the enemy with the same move until they get knocked out. If you are losing, the best thing to do is run around the ring and avoid until the round is over, as you get some of your stamina back between rounds.
Also, the game just doesn't look good. All the characters are compressed sprites, and the color palette is incredibly blah.
OST
The music isn't much to write home about...
Final Verdict
This game will actually spawn two sequels, both of which we will play over the course of this blog. Overall, though, this game is pretty forgettable. It is certainly better than Pit Fighter but it still isn't that good. Skip this one!
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